This is a great example of a later-type Australian market Mini. From 1971 all of the local Minis had the square ‘Clubman’ front end that was added in a nod to crash safety, there are larger tail lights and wind-up windows (first seen on Australian Minis), but still the external door hinges – which were long gone from UK production.

This car would have a 998cc engine making about 40 hp (29 kW), but frankly by 1978 the Mini was falling behind the pace set by much newer competition such as Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and so forth. You might say it was a more conservative customer that was still buying ‘standard’ Minis, or perhaps those who had previously owned one. It does not take a lot to imagine this car might have been coming to these local shops since it was new.

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Ive driven some of these Aussie mini Clubmans, one owned by an Irish friend in Sydney was kinda fun it was the last genuine S model before all the toys were deleted 74?, so Georges car had the twin fuel tanks full gauges rostyle wheels twin Carbs but fitted to an 1100 motor as the 1275 was long dead, when going properly it was fun to drive, the most recent was a stock 998 Clubman lent to me in Tasmania it was slow and smelled of oil fumes, a very tired example, it banged and crashed over bumps, it was transport only. It seems strange living in NZ where Minis are still common that these cars are becoming rare elsewhere.

It seems the sequence is there was the 1100cc Clubman S that had brought in the square front shape in 1971, and lasted until 1976. From 1971-73 there was the 1275 GT that replaced the Cooper S, and still had full Cooper S running gear including twin tanks. In 75 they dropped back to just the 998cc (which was in base models all along) which even had an SS trim level which is a bit sad. Then in 1978 they did the 1275 LS which also had twin fuel tanks.

I drove one for sale about 20 years ago, I can’t remember which year the car was, with a 1440cc engine. It went pretty well (a Mini still isn’t that fast in outright terms) and was fun to drive but was a bit rusty which put me off.

My mates one had been a 1275, that engine expired not long after he bought it the 1100 came from a ADO16 sedan at dollar Wally’s over near the old Bankstown airfield great wrecking yard lots of BMC stuff which was handy, the twin tanks were handy fortnightly dole payments it ran on one tank per week very cheap on gas if driven sensibly, have fun not so good,

the 1275 GT had twin carbs, but none of the other specialty equipment that went into the 1275 Cooper S engine. This is reflected in the lower HP rting — about 20% less — and lower performance. The engine is much more akin to the Spridget 1275, albeit inline rather than transverse.

The Mini first got wind up windows in Australia in 1965 for a Deluxe model. Australia also didn’t get the bigger rear window update. This was pretty typical for Australian manufacture where non-essential changes that would incur tooling costs didn’t happen, but functional improvements did.

We used to have a small auto museum in one of the lesser shopping malls in this area and they had a ’60s or early ’70s Mini on display. I looked at it closely one day and marvelled at just how “small” it really was, and what a “huge” amount of interior space there was relative to exterior size.

I think this Mini looks odd with the larger snout, and I wonder why it was really necessary for crash protection when later ’90s Minis had the original front end and seemed to meet all the stringent crash standards of the day in the UK (and I believe from ’96 to 2000 they even added a driver’s side air bag IIRC).

The reason for the Clubman front was because it was originally to feature a hatchback, when it was canned on grounds of 1) cost, 2) BL not believing hatchbacks were the future and 3) despite size differences between the two BL were pushing the underdeveloped Austin Maxi as its sole mainstream hatchback model.

The latter explains why neither the Clubman, ADO16 / Allegro, Princess or the Marina* ever received hatchback variants, as it would have destroyed the USP of the Austin Maxi.

Based on the Clubman hatchback prototype, it would have actually looked more modern had the sides been de-seamed so as to create more interior space by making the bodyshell slightly larger (as was tried on the Barrel Car Mini project).

Though the same could also be said for the original Mini as well, where an updated de-seamed version of the original Mini with larger 12-inch wheels (amongst other features) clearly differentiates itself from the original Mini with external seams and 10-inch wheels.

Objectively, there were many years when minis didn’t stack up well to alternatives, but still sold in bucketloads. A lot of that was based on character (this ad sold thousands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_93lYLzGHo), and some of it was based on traditional conservative buyers going with what they know, but also the mini is just a really good package.

It’s a very practical town car, especially in tight English towns with not much room and very little parking. And between towns they’re always great fun, so long as you’re tolerant of the choppy ride. The direct steering, willing engine and go-kart handling make them very engaging to drive.

Our family mini shows how the mini crossed boundaries. It was an 850 originally owned by my grandparents who had had a mini before. They liked their mini because it was a practical grocery-getter, because it was affordable to run, and because they knew minis. Then it got passed to my brother and it had a second life being ragged endlessly around little back country roads, never less than full throttle. We had a heap of fun in that little red car and it did stirling duty. Like all minis it rusted out in the end, but left very fond memories.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw a picture of a Clubman. Yuck; I couldn’t believe they were seriously disfiguring the Mini that way. Its original front end was one of its best features. What a travesty. I guess I wasn’t the only one.

No you’re not the only one Paul, I much prefer the original front end too. IMO Minis built in the last 10 yrs or so of the original run were the best looking of the bunch with their extra wide fender flares and wider 13-inch tires (tyres?) and had much more civilized, livable interiors too.

Really liking this ’99 model with the Sportspack and in a colour called Mulberry – very sharp!

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